An outbreak of the plague in the Democratic Republic of Congo has given rise to several dozen people to the long-feared disease that caused the Black Death pandemic in Europe in the 14th century.
Anne Laudisoit of the NGO, Ecohealth Alliance, in New York, Ecohealth Alliance, between November 15 and December 13 identified several cases of the plague in the Biringi area in Ituri province.
At least 520 people have fallen ill and “more than 31” of them have died, Health Minister Patrick Karamura said.
The vast majority of cases were bubonic plague, with the exception of five cases of pneumonia and two cases of septic plague, which occur when the disease spreads to the lungs or blood, respectively.
Younger people were most affected, with the average age of patients only 13. Among those infected was a three-month-old baby, according to Laudisoit.
The pest, caused by the Yersinia pestis bacterium, is endemic to the province where it was first confirmed in 1926. Outbreaks appear to be exacerbated during World War II, and the World Health Organization (WHO) has issued a warning about serious cases of the disease in Ituri’s Rethy region. in July last year.
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The latest outbreak began with mass deaths among rats, which were infected by germ-bearing fleas in their fur. Those fleas then started looking for new hosts and switched to humans and infected them through their bites.
Bubble plague is the most common form of the disease, which occurs after the basil moves through the blood and attacks the nearest lymph node. The swollen and painful lymph nodes that can sometimes break open are known as ‘buboes’. Other symptoms include fever, headache and vomiting.
The so-called Black Death, which according to various estimates killed between a third and a half of the European population in the middle of the 14th century, was also the largest pandemic in human history, and was caused by bubonic plague.
The dreaded disease is now curable with different types of antibiotics. Without proper treatment, however, the plague can cause the deaths of between 30 to 90 percent of those infected.
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However, it is often difficult to get proper medical help in DR Congo, as the health system lacks funding and is hampered by the activity of various militant groups. In addition to the plague, the Central African country is also being challenged by episodic Ebola outbreaks, malaria, cholera, HIV and other diseases.
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